| Canadian Prisons |
| Kingston Penitentiary |
| Location: |
Kingston, OntarioKingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario, where Lake Ontario runs into the St. Lawrence River and the Thousand Islands begin.Kingston is the county seat of Frontenac County...
|
| Status: |
Operational |
| Classification: |
Maximum security |
| Capacity: |
564 |
| Opened: |
June 1, 1835 |
| Closed: |
|
| Managed by: |
Corrections Canada |
Kingston Penitentiary (known locally as
KP and
Kingston Pen) is a
maximum security prisonMaximum security prison is a concept used in both the United States and Canada.*For the United States see Incarceration in the United States#Security levels*For Canada see Corrections_Canada#Security_classification_of_offenders...
located in
KingstonKingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario, where Lake Ontario runs into the St. Lawrence River and the Thousand Islands begin.Kingston is the county seat of Frontenac County...
,
OntarioOntario is a province located in east-central Canada, the largest by population and second largest, after Quebec, in total area. Ontario is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba to the west and Quebec to the east, and 5 U.S...
between King Street West and
Lake OntarioLake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. The lake is bounded on the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the south by Ontario's Niagara Peninsula and by the U.S. state of New York...
.
Originally constructed in 1833–1834, and officially opened on June 1, 1835 as the "Provincial Penitentiary of the Province of Upper Canada," it is one of the oldest prisons in continuous use in the world. Kingston Penitentiary is one of nine prisons in the Kingston area which range from low-security facilities to the maximum-security facilities Kingston Penitentiary and
Millhaven InstitutionMillhaven Institution is a maximum security prison located in Bath, Ontario. Roughly 400 inmates are incarcerated at Millhaven.Opened in 1971, Millhaven was originally built to replace the area's other maximum security prison . A riot at Kingston Penitentiary forced Millhaven to open prematurely...
(which was initially built to replace Kingston Pen).
The penitentiary's western wall adjoins the Portsmouth Olympic Harbour, which hosted the sailing events for the
1976 Summer OlympicsThe 1976 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1976...
.
Immediately across the road to the north is the now closed Kingston
Prison For WomenThe Prison For Women , located in Kingston, Ontario, functioned at a maximum security level from 1934 to 2000.The first women arrived on January 24, 1934...
(now part of
Queen's UniversityQueen's University, generally referred to simply as Queen's, is a coeducational, non-sectarian, research intensive, public university located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. In 2008, Queen's maintained its status as one of the top universities in Canada.The Church of Scotland established Queen's...
), officially opened on January 24, 1934 to take female prisoners who had originally been housed in segregated quarters in the main facility.
On April 14, 1971, a
riotA riot is a form of civil disorder characterized by disorganized groups lashing out in a sudden and intense rash of violence against people or property. While individuals may attempt to lead or control a riot, riots are typically chaotic and exhibit herd behavior.Riots often occur in reaction to a...
at Kingston Penitentiary lasted four days and resulted in the death of two inmates and destruction of much of the prison. Security was substantially increased and prison reforms were instituted. From 1971 - 1981, the penitentiary served as Corrections Canada's Ontario Region Reception Centre. Today the facility houses between 350 and 500 inmates, plus another 120 at R.T.C. (the Regional Treatment Centre) contained within the prison. Every inmate is given an individual cell.
On April 30, 1997 Kingston Penitentiary was designated a
National Historic SiteA national historic site is a designation that an area possesses national historical significance. It may confer protected area status on the site, but not necessarily. Such sites can range in size from small to complex, and may include physical evidence of the subject related to the history being...
.
Escapes
In 1999, prisoner
Ty ConnTyrone Williams "Ty" Conn was a Canadian bank robber. He was the only person in the last half century to escape over the wall from the Kingston Penitentiary, one of Canada's most secure prisons....
escaped from within the prison; although this feat had been accomplished on at least 26 occasions beginning in 1836, Conn was the first to succeed since 1958. Conn's body was found in Toronto: he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound while speaking on the telephone to a producer from the
CBCThe Canadian Broadcasting Corporation , a Canadian crown corporation, is the country’s national public radio and television broadcaster. In French, it is called la Société Radio-Canada...
.
Infamous inmates
Kingston Penitentiary has been home to many of Canada's most dangerous and notorious criminals.
James DonnellyThe Most Reverend Dr. James Donnelly was Roman Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Clogher in Ireland....
, patriarch of the infamous
Black DonnellysThe Black Donnellys is the common nickname of the Donnelly family who emigrated from County Tipperary, Ireland, to Canada in about 1845-1846, and who participated in a notorious feud in Biddulph Township in Middlesex County, Ontario, which culminated in a massacre in which five family members were...
, was sentenced to be hanged on September 17, 1859, for the murder of Patrick Farrell. A petition for clemency started by his wife Johannah saw his sentence reduced to seven years in Kingston Penitentiary.
Other notable inmates include
Paul BernardoPaul Kenneth Bernardo, , is a Canadian serial killer and rapist, known for the murders he committed with his wife Karla Homolka.-Early life:...
, and formerly,
Clifford OlsonClifford Robert Olson, Jr is a convicted Canadian serial killer who confessed to murdering two children and nine youths in the early 1980s.-Murders:...
,
Roger CaronRoger "Mad Dog" Caron is a Canadian bank robber and the author of the influential 1978 prison memoir Go-Boy! Memories of a Life Behind Bars...
and
Grace MarksGrace Marks was an Upper Canadian maid who was convicted in 1843 of murder in the death of her employer Thomas Kinnear, and was suspected of murdering his housekeeper, Nancy Montgomery...
.
Wayne BodenWayne Clifford Boden was a Canadian serial killer and rapist active from 1969-1971. He earned the nickname "the Vampire Rapist" because he had the penchant of biting the breasts of his victims, a modus operandi that led to his conviction due to forensic odontological evidence, the first such...
, the Canadian "Vampire Rapist" died there in March 2006.
Tim BuckTimothy "Tim" Buck was a long-time leader of the Communist Party of Canada...
, leader of the Communist Party, was a political prisoner at Kingston convicted under Section 98 of the
Criminal CodeThe Criminal Code of Canada is the codification of most of the criminal offences and procedure in Canada...
during the early 1930s. An attempt was made to murder him when shots entered Buck's cell. It was later found that the shots came from guard weapons. The prison is considered "the dumping ground for Canada's worst inmates" and almost all are protective custody inmates, who cannot function or live in other institutions due to their crimes. The penitentiary has several internal armed control posts, as well as armed towers and armed gate posts.
Correctional Service of Canada Museum
Located directly across from Kingston Penitentiary, the Correctional Service of Canada Museum explains the history of Kingston Penitentiary and other correctional centres using displays that incorporate artifacts, photographs, equipment, and replicas. The museum also houses most of the institution's historical records as well as those of other Canadian penitentiaries, and provides the only penitentiary research service in Canada.
External links